The Rig Veda: An Anthology

The hymns of the Rig Veda were composed primarily for use in the important Soma ritual of ancient Vedic society. Socially elite members of Hindu patriarchal culture performed and commissioned the Soma sacrifice, a prestigious rite. Though its form varied and evolved over time in the Vedic and post-Vedic periods, the ritual essentially consisted of preparing the juice of the Soma plant by crushing its leaves or stalks, purifying the liquid by straining it through wool, and mixing the purified juice with milk or water. After offering the drink to the gods, male participants consumed it in morning, mid-day, and evening rituals. Vedic texts describe drinking Soma as producing a euphoric feeling of power and expansion. Much speculation has centered on identifying the psychoactive plant from which Soma was prepared. Some scholars have suggested the psychotropic ingredient was ephedra or a hallucinogen; others have proposed mountain rue and the fly agaric mushroom as likely candidates for the Soma plant.

In the Vedas, Soma is both a ritual substance and a god. The ninth book of the Rig Veda consists of hymns dedicated solely to the preparation and purification of the sacred drink, processes described metaphorically in a rich tapestry of interwoven